L’analyse des contaminants émergents (ECs) suscite l’intérêt de la communauté scientifique, de sorte que plusieurs études ont rapporté leur présence dans les eaux usées et dans les eaux de surface. Toutefois, la plupart des études ont concentré leurs travaux principalement sur la phase dissoute, si bien que la concentration des ECSs dans les particules en suspension (SPM – suspended particulate matter) demeure peu connue. De plus, la plupart des méthodes traitant l’analyse des ECs sont basées sur le couplage de la chromatographie liquide couplée à un triple quadripôle (QqQ). Typiquement, ces QqQ fonctionnent à basse résolution, augmentant ainsi la probabilité d’obtenir des faux positifs. Afin de diminuer le taux de faux positifs un nouveau protocole permettant l’analyse de 31 ECs dans la fraction dissoute et la fraction solide a été développé à l’aide de la spectrométrie de masse à haute résolution. De plus, un dépistage du potentiel estrogénique par des levures a été effectué. Cela représente l’un des premiers rapports décrivant les concentrations en ECs dans les eaux usées et les SPM combiné avec un dépistage du potentiel estrogénique. La séparation des particules en suspension a été réalisée via la filtration des échantillons liquides. Les ECs ont été extraits de la fraction solide à l’aide d’ultrasons en utilisant du MeOH : ACN (1:1, v/v) avec l’ajout de 1% de HCOOH. Par la suite, l’extrait de la fraction solide et de la phase aqueuse ont été soumis à la SPE (solid phase extraction – extraction sur phase solide) à l’aide d’une cartouche polymérique composé d’acide benzènesulfonique. Une colonne de type C-18 a été utilisée pour séparer les ECs sélectionnés. Un spectromètre de masse de haute résolution (Q-Exactive), constitué d’un quadripôle et d’une trappe ionique orbitale à haute résolution a été utilisé en mode balayage (FS, full scan) avec une résolution de 70 000 FWHM (FWHM– Largeur à mi-hauteur, Full width at half maximum) à m/z 200 pour l’analyse de la fraction solide et en mode suivi des réactions parallèles (PRM, Parallel reaction monitoring) à 17 500 FWHM à m/z 200 pour la fraction liquide. Une ionisation chimique à pression atmosphérique (APCI, Atmospheric pressure chemical ionisation) en modes positif et négatif a été utilisée. La méthode a été appliquée sur des échantillons réels afin de déterminer non seulement la portion d’ECs sur les SPM, mais également leur devenir dans le traitement des eaux usées jusqu’à leur déversement dans les eaux réceptrices. La récupération des composés d’intérêt a été de 27 à 102 % et de 43 à 122%, pour la fraction solide et liquide respectivement. Les limites de détections se situaient entre 0.5 à 104 ng L-1 et de 0.3 à 2.3 ng g-1. Les courbes d’étalonnages dans les matrices d’eaux usées et les solides ont montré une bonne linéarité (R2 > 0.991) pour les analytes cibles ainsi qu’une précision acceptable avec des coefficients de variation inférieurs à 25%. / The trace analysis of emerging contaminants (ECs) is gaining more interest and several studies have widely reported their occurrence in waste and surface water. However, most studies found in the literature reported concentrations only in the dissolved phase often without considering the suspended particulate matter (SPM). Moreover, most of the methods dealing with the analysis of ECs are based on liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry with a triple quadruple (QqQ). The majority of QqQ operate at low resolution, thus increasing the possibility of false positive identification. The current study presents a new protocol to quantify 31 emerging contaminants not only in the effluent wastewater, but also from SPM of municipal wastewater samples using high-resolution mass spectrometry, an improvement to reduce false positives. Furthermore, Yeast estrogen screen assay (YES-assay) adapted from direct measurement of estrogenic activity was tested on filtered wastewater samples. This represents one of the first reports describing ECs in wastewater and SPM with direct measurement of estrogenic activity. The separation of suspended particulate matter was realized using filtered water samples. The ECs were extracted from the matrix by sonication using MeOH:ACN (1:1, v/v) with 1% HCOOH. Thereafter, the extracts of the solid fraction and the aqueous phase were subjected to an off-line solid phase extraction (SPE) with a Strata-X-C cartridge to concentrate and clean-up the extracts. A C18 chromatography column was used to separate ECs. A QExactive mass spectrometer, which combines a quadruple analyser with a high resolution orbital ion trap (OrbitrapTM) was used in full scan (FS) mode with 70 000 FWHM (Full width at half maximum) at m/z 200 for analysis of the solid fraction, while analysis of the liquid fraction was realised using parallel reaction monitoring (PRM) with 17 500 FWHM at m/z 200. An APCI (Atmospheric Pressure Chemical Ionization) source in positive and negative mode was used for the ionization of target compounds. The method was successfully applied to real samples allowing us to determine the proportion of ECs in suspended particulate and the fate of the selected ECs during wastewater-treatment processes and their release into receiving surface waters. Recoveries of target compounds ranged from 27 to 102 % and from 43 to 122 % for the liquid and the solid fraction respectively. The limits of detection ranged from 0.5 to 104 ng L-1 and from 0.3 to 2.3 ng g-1. Calibration curves in wastewater and solid matrix showed good linearity (R2 > 0.991), for all target analytes, and precision (intraday and interday) showed coefficients of variation below 25%.

Une nouvelle méthode d'extraction en phase solide (SPE) couplée à une technique d'analyse ultrarapide a été développée pour la détermination simultanée de neuf contaminants émergents (l'atrazine, le déséthylatrazine, le 17(béta)-estradiol, l'éthynylestradiol, la noréthindrone, la caféine, la carbamazépine, le diclofénac et le sulfaméthoxazole) provenant de différentes classes thérapeutiques et présents dans les eaux usées. La pré-concentration et la purification des échantillons a été réalisée avec une cartouche SPE en mode mixte (Strata ABW) ayant à la fois des propriétés échangeuses de cations et d'anions suivie d'une analyse par une désorption thermique par diode laser/ionisation chimique à pression atmosphérique couplée à la spectrométrie de masse en tandem (LDTD-APCI-MS/MS). La LDTD est une nouvelle méthode d'introduction d'échantillon qui réduit le temps total d'analyse à moins de 15 secondes par rapport à plusieurs minutes avec la chromatographie liquide couplée à la spectrométrie de masse en tandem traditionnelle (LC-MS/MS). Plusieurs paramètres SPE ont été évalués dans le but d'optimiser l'efficacité de récupération lors de l'extraction des analytes provenant des eaux usées, tels que la nature de la phase stationnaire, le débit de chargement, le pH d'extraction, le volume et la composition de la solution de lavage et le volume de l'échantillon initial. Cette nouvelle méthode a été appliquée avec succès à de vrais échantillons d'eaux usées provenant d'un réservoir de décantation primaire. Le recouvrement des composés ciblés provenant des eaux usées a été de 78 à 106%, la limite de détection a été de 30 à 122 ng L-1, alors que la limite de quantification a été de 88 à 370 ng L-1. Les courbes d'étalonnage dans les matrices d'eaux usées ont montré une bonne linéarité (R2 > 0,991) pour les analytes cibles ainsi qu’une précision avec un coefficient de variance inférieure à 15%. / A new solid phase extraction (SPE) method coupled to a high throughput sample analysis technique was developed for the simultaneous determination of nine selected emerging contaminants (atrazine, desethylatrazine, 17(beta)-estradiol, ethynylestradiol, northindrone, caffeine, carbamazepine, diclofenac and sulfamethoxazole) comprising drugs from different therapeutic classes present in wastewater. Sample pre-concentration and clean-up was performed with a mixed-mode SPE cartridge (Strata ABW) having both cation and anion exchange properties followed by analysis by laser diode thermal desorption/atmospheric pressure chemical ionization coupled to tandem mass spectrometry (LDTD-APCI-MS/MS). The LDTD is a new high-throughput sample introduction method, which reduces total analysis time to less than 15 seconds compared to minutes with traditional liquid-chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). Several SPE parameters were evaluated in order to optimize recovery efficiencies when extracting analytes from wastewater, such as the nature of stationary phase, the loading flow rate, the extraction pH, the various volume and composition of the washing solution and the initial sample volume. The method was successfully applied to real wastewater samples from a primary sedimentation tank. Recoveries of target compounds from wastewater ranged from 78 to 106 %, the limit of detection ranged from 30 to 122 ng L-1 while the limit of quantification ranged from 88 to 370 ng L-1. Calibration curves in wastewater matrix showed good linearity (R2 > 0.991), for all target analytes, and precision (intraday and interday) showed a coefficient of variance below 15%.

of the Diploma Thesis In this Diploma Thesis, the electrochemical behavior of 4-nitrophenol (4-NP) was studied at a newly prepared large-surface carbon film electrode (ls-CFE) using techniques of DC voltammetry (DCV) and differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) with the aim to develop sensitive analytical methods for its determination. Voltammetric behavior of 4-NP was investigated in the region of anodic potentials, in dependence on the pH of the medium used (realized using Britton-Robinson buffer). The optimum pH values for the determination of 4-NP were chosen as follows: pH 3.0 (for DCV) and pH 7.0 (for DPV). During anodic oxidation of 4-NP on the ls-CFE at the concentration of the analyte of 1·10-4 mol/l, the passivation of the electrode surface occurred. Thus, it was decided to record series of measurements always at a new carbon film. Using the sample of 4-NP (at the concentration of 1·10-4 mol/l), the repeatability of the application of individual carbon films was tested, with obtained RSD values of 3.7% and 3.6% for DCV and DPV, respectively. Under optimum conditions, the calibration dependences of 4-NP were measured in the concentration range from 1·10-6 to 1·10-4 mol/l, with the limits of quantification (LQs) of 1.5·10-6 mol/l (for DCV at the ls-CFE) and 4.6·10-7 mol/l (for DPV at the...

This master's thesis is focused on the determination of 6-thioguanine (6-T) by DC voltammetry (DCV), differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) and flow injection analysis with electrochemical detection (FIA-ED) on a boron doped diamond electrode (BDDFE). The optimum conditions for determination of 6-T were found and under these conditions, concentration dependences were measured and the limits of quantification (LOQ) were calculated for each method. Medium of 60% methanol and phosphate buffer (PB) pH 2,0 was chosen as optimum for DCV and DPV determination of 6-T at BDDFE. For both DCV and DPV, the linear concentration dependences were obtained in concentration ranges of 6-T from 2 µmol·l-1 to 10 µmol·l-1 with LOQ 0,9 µmol·l-1 for DCV and 1,5 µmol·l-1 for DPV. Lower LOQ was achieved in PB pH 2,0, where LOQ was 0,6 µmol·l-1 for both DCV and DPV, but the problem was lower repeatability. In PB pH 2 6-T was determined by DCV in drinking and river water with LOQ 1,3 µmol·l-1 in both drinking and river water. The possibility of solid phase extraction was investigated as a method for preliminary separation of 6-T from urine. For FIA under optimized conditions (polarization potential 1300 mV, flow rate 5 ml·min1 and sample volume 50 µl) the linear concentrations dependences were obtained in concentration ranges...

The submitted work deals with the application of voltammetric determination of Fomesafen using non-traditional mercury meniscus modified silver solid amalgam electrode on model samples of Fomesafen in real aqueous matrices of drinking and river water. This method of measurement has been developed and optimized in my bachelor thesis, which the diploma thesis is related to. Fomesafen belongs to a group of herbicides used on a mass scale in the late 20th century in the USA and in many countries around the world still used even today. Among its side effects according to the EPA include, among others, potential carcinogenicity to humans and confirmed carcinogenicity to some mammals (such as rats) which led to a legislative regulation on its use in many countries around the world including the USA, the European Union and many others. Silver solid amalgam electrode has been developed with the intention to limit the use of mercury in accordance with new legislation of the European Union and the concept of green analytical chemistry. Despite the low levels of mercury mainly bound in the form of virtually harmless silver amalgam electrode retains very similar electrochemical properties with proven mercury electrodes. As part of the thesis, direct determination of a number of partial extraction of Fomesafen...

The thesis involves computer simulation and theoretical studies of phase transition in soft-condensed matter systems and theoretical understanding of enzyme kinetics along with kinetic proofreading of tRNA-aminoacylation in biological systems. Based on the system and phenomena of interest, the work has be classified into the following four major parts: I. Surface phenomena and surface energy of vapor-liquid interface. II. Condensation of vapor in two and three dimensions. III. Liquid-solid phase transition in polydisperse systems. IV. Enzyme catalysis and kinetic proofreading in biosynthesis. Above mentioned four parts have further been divided into thirteen chapters. In the following we provide a brief chapter-wise outline of the thesis. Part I deals with surface tension and interfacial properties of vapor-liquid interface for Lennard-Jones (LJ) fluid in both two and three dimensions. In Chapter 1, we provide a brief overview of vapor-liquid interface and existing theoretical and computer simulation studies of surface/line tension. In this chapter we also discuss about the existing experimental studies. In Chapter 2, we present computer simulation studies of surface tension in two dimensional Lennard-Jones system. The sensitivity of line tension on range (potential cut-off) of interparticle interaction is discussed in this chapter. We present Density Functional Theory (DFT) of line tension of vapor-liquid interface based on Weeks-Chandler-Anderson (WCA) and Barker-Hendersen (BH) perturbation techniques. We compare the DFT prediction with the computer simulation results. In general, WCA approach has been found to be successful for 3D system in predicting the surface tension. In 2D, however, it does not give good agreement either for phase diagram or for the line tension. In fact, BH also does not give accurate values of the coexistence parameters, however, it predicts better line tension compared to WCA. In Chapter 3 we present both theoretical and computer simulation studies of gas-liquid surface tension for three dimensional Lennard-Jones fluid. We perform non-equilibrium computer simulation study following Transition Matrix Monte Carlo (TMMC) method to obtain surface tension for various ranges of potential and introduce a new scaling relation of surface tension in order to capture both the temperature and interparticle interaction range dependence. The scaling shows excellent agreement with the simulation result and it can also predict the critical temperature with sufficient accuracy. The width of the gas-liquid interface is found to be insensitive to the range of the potential, whereas the density separation of the bulk vapor and liquid phases increases with increasing range of potential. Thus, the major contribution comes from the increasing density separation of the bulk vapor and liquid phases. Part II consists of four chapters, where we focus on the age old problem of nucleation, from the perspective of thermodynamics and kinetics. We account for the rich history of the problem in the introductory Chapter 4. In this chapter we describe various types and examples of the nucleation phenomena, and a brief account of the major theoretical approaches used so far. We begin with the most successful Classical Nucleation Theory (CNT), and then move on to more recent applications of Density Functional Theory (DFT) and other mean-field types of models. We present various experimental techniques used in the literature to obtain rate of nucleation. We conclude with a comparison between the experiments, theories and computational studies. In the next chapter (Chapter 5) we attempt to understand the mechanism of the gas-liquid nucleation in three dimension at large metastability from microscopic point of view. Here we study the nature of sequential growth of all liquid-like clusters (not just the largest cluster) at different degrees of metastability. Therefore, we have ordered the clusters according to their decreasing sizes and identified them in terms of kth largest cluster where, k = 1 denotes the largest cluster in the system, k = 2 represents the second largest and k = 3 is the third largest and so on. We have studied both the free energies and the trajectories of the liquid-like clusters in this extended set of order parameters. We further define Fkl(n) as the free energy of the kth largest cluster with size n. Classical nucleation theory provides an expression of unconditional free energy of a single cluster, F (n) (the free energy of formation of a cluster of size n), which is an intensive property of the system. The study of our conditional free energy surfaces, Fkl(n), reveals a more detailed, microscopic picture of the system’s cluster size distribution that is necessary to understand the kinetics of nucleation and growth at large metastability. The rate of nucleation shows a cross over at kinetic spinodal (the limit of metastability, ∆F1 l = 0). Below kinetic spinodal only one (largest) cluster crosses the critical size through activation whereas above this point more than one cluster grow simultaneously through barrierless diffusion. We present a theoretical analysis of the free energy of kth largest cluster based on order statistics. The theoretical predictions are in excellent agreement with computer simulation results for the range of supersaturation we studied. While the previous chapter focuses on relatively well-studied nucleation mechanism in 3dimensional (3D) LJ system at large metastability, in Chapter 6 we present our studies on the characteristics of the nucleation phenomena in two dimensional Lennard-Jones fluid for different ranges of interparticle interaction. Using various Monte Carlo (MC) methods, we calculate the free energy barrier of nucleation and bulk densities of equilibrium liquid and vapor phases, and also investigate the size and shape of the critical nuclei. We find an interesting interplay between the range of interaction potential and the extent of metastability. The free energy barrier of nucleation strongly depends on the range of interaction potential. The study is carried out at an intermediate level of supersaturation (away from the kinetic spinodal limit). A surprisingly large cutoff (rc � 7.0�, where � is the diameter of LJ particles) in the truncation of the LJ potential is required to obtain converged results. A lower cutoff leads to a substantial deviation in the values of the nucleation barrier, and characteristics of the critical cluster (with respect to full range of interaction). We observe that in 2D system CNT fails to provide a reliable estimate of the free energy barrier. While it is known to slightly overestimate the nucleation barrier in 3D, it underestimates the barrier by � 50% at the saturation ratio S =1.1 (defined as S = P/Pc, where Pc is the coexistence pressure) and at the reduced temperature T � =0.427 (defined as T � = kBT/�, where � is the depth of the potential well). The reason for the marked inadequacy of the CNT in 2D can be attributed to the non-circular nature of the critical clusters. Although the shape becomes increasingly circular and the clusters become more compact with increase in cutoff radius, an appreciable non-circular nature remains even for full potential (without truncation) to make the predictions of CNT inaccurate. In Chapter 7 we report the computer simulation study of nucleation in three dimensional LJ system. At a fixed supersaturation the free energy barrier of nucleation increases with increasing range of interparticle interaction. On increasing range of intermolecular interaction, the kinetic spinodal where the mechanism of nucleation changes from activated barrier crossing to barrierless diffusion, shifts towards the deep metastable region. Both the critical cluster size and pre-critical minimum in the free energy surface of kth largest cluster shift towards the smaller size at their respective kinetic spinodal as we increase the range of potential. We find only a weak non-trivial (other than supersaturation and surface tension) contribution to the free energy barrier of nucleation. Part III consists of two chapters and focuses on the liquid-solid phase transition of polydisperse fluid. In Chapter 8 we introduce polydisperse systems and their classification based on different identities. We describe the importance and abundance of polydisperse system in nature. The theoretical modeling of different polydisperse systems and their extent of applicability have also been presented. We have discussed about the various factors which control the phase diagram and various phenomena related to the structure and phase transition. In Chapter 9 we present computer simulation study on freezing/melting of Lennard-Jones (LJ) fluid at different polydispersities. The freezing/melting of polydisperse LJ fluids presents an interesting case study, because, as the polydispersity increases the energy-entropy balance becomes increasingly unfavorable for the solid to exist as a stable phase. The energy of the solid increases due to build up of strain energy because of increasing mismatch in size of the neighbors, while the entropy of the liquid increases. These two factors lead to the existence of a terminal polydispersity. We find beyond the terminal ploydispersity, δ. 0.11system remains in the disorder state even at very high pressure and low temperature. The terminal polydispersity obtained in the present study is close to the experimental value (δt. ≈ 12%). Interestingly, contrary to hard sphere polydisperse fluid, LJ fluid does not exhibit reentrant melting. The last part (Part IV) of the thesis consists of three chapters that deal with the enzyme catalysis and kinetic proofreading of tRNA-aminoacyl synthetases. In Chapter 10 we describe protein synthesis process in biological system and corresponding two processes: aminoacylation of tRNA and translation of amino acid in ribosome. Our interest is to understand the enzyme catalysis involved in aminoacylation of tRNA in the process of protein synthesis. We present the classification of 20 aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases into two classes based on their structure and mode of binding to ATP and tRNA. We discuss all the steps involved in whole tRNA-aminoacylation process. Then we introduce kinetic proofreading during aminoacylation reaction. In Chapter 11 we theoretically analyze the single turn over and steady state reaction mechanism of two classes of aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases. Class I enzymes not only differ in their structure but they also differ with respect to the pre-steady kinetics compared to class II enzymes. We find that the strong binding of product to class I enzymes causes the product release step to be rate limiting step leading to the burst of product formation in pre-steady reaction. On the other hand class II enzymes do not show any burst kinetics. The present study based on time dependent probability statistics is successful in explaining all the experimental results quantitatively. In Chapter 12 we present an augmented kinetic scheme and then employ methods of time dependent probability statistics to understand the mechanism of kinetic proofreading of isoleucyl-tRNA synthetase (IRS) which belongs to class I. We investigate that the enhanced hydrolysis of wrong substrate (Val) enables IRS to discriminate the correct substrate (Ile) and wrong substrate (Val) efficiently. It has been observed that an extra CP1 editing domain serves as an activating domain towards enhanced hydrolysis of Val. The present study is able to explain most of the existing experimental observations. In the concluding note, Chapter 13 lists a few relevant problems that may prove worthwhile to be addressed in future. In the Appendices, we present two of the techniques used in our present computer simulation and theoretical studies. Appendix A describes Grand Canonical Transition Matrix Monte Carlo (GC-TMMC) method which is employed in computer simulation studies of nucleation and surface tension. In Appendix B we present the probabilistic method of waiting time distribution computation used in enzyme catalysis and kinetic proofreading.

No description available.

Il est aujourd'hui avéré que la composition chimique de l'atmosphère des régions enneigées – et notamment des régions polaires – est sensiblement affectée par les échanges d'espèces chimiques réactives entre l'air et la neige. En effet, le manteau neigeux constitue un véritable réacteur photochimique multiphasique, mais les mécanismes physico-chimiques à l'œuvre en son sein sont encore mal connus. Une compréhension détaillée des processus s'y déroulant est indispensable pour modéliser correctement la composition et la réactivité de l'atmosphère au-dessus des régions enneigées. De plus, la reconstitution de l'évolution post-dépôt des composés chimiques stables de la neige est également un préalable indispensable pour permettre l'interprétation paléoclimatique de leurs profils de concentration enregistrés dans les carottes de glace.Le nitrate (NO3-) présent dans la neige joue un rôle fondamental, car sa photolyse induit notamment l'émission d'oxydes d'azote (NOx = NO + NO2) par le manteau neigeux, qui modifient la capacité oxydante de l'atmosphère via la production d'ozone. L'objet de cette thèse a donc été d'étudier par modélisations les processus physico-chimiques intervenants dans l'évolution de la concentration du nitrate dans la neige.Une première approche, prolongeant des études préexistantes, a visé à identifier un mécanisme réactionnel pour la photochimie du nitrate dans la neige, en postulant notamment l'existence d'une couche quasi-liquide à la surface des grains de neige. Néanmoins, les propriétés exactes de l'interface air – glace sont, à l'heure actuelle, encore mal caractérisées, et il est apparu que cette démarche présentait de trop larges incertitudes pour être poursuivie.Une discussion approfondie a alors été menée afin d'évaluer les tentatives actuelles de modélisation de la chimie de la neige, et dans le but de proposer une nouvelle approche plus réaliste au regard du niveau de connaissance actuel.Ainsi, dans une seconde partie, l'ensemble des processus d'échange physico-chimiques du nitrate entre l'air et la neige ont été étudiés puis modélisés : adsorption à la surface, diffusion en phase solide et co-condensation. Parmi les résultats obtenus, il est apparu que les paramétrisations actuelles de la couverture surfacique en nitrate étaient incapables de reproduire les concentrations mesurées, dans le cas de la neige de surface à Dome C, et révèlent d'importantes surestimations. A contratio, la prise en compte conjointe de la diffusion en phase solide ainsi que d'un processus de co-condensation permet de bien reproduire qualitativement les séries temporelles de plus d'un an, couvrant donc à la fois l'été et l'hiver austral, qui présentent chacun des caractéristiques distinctes en terme de concentration mesurées.Cette étude révèle ainsi l'importance de ces processus physico-chimiques d'échange dans la modélisation de la chimie de la neige, et pose les bases des mécanismes à prendre en compte dans le cadre de développements futurs. / It is increasingly recognized that the atmosphere composition of snow covered regions – especially polar regions – is noticeably affected by air-snow interactions. Indeed, the snowpack is a multiphase reactor, but physico-chemical processes which take place inside are still poorly understood. A detailled understanding of snow-atmosphere interactions is essential for understanding and modeling properly the composition and reactivity of the atmosphere above snow covered regions. Reconstructions of past trends in atmospheric composition using ice cores also require to understand snowpack processes that affected the composition of interstitial air and burried snow after its deposition.Nitrate (NO3-) present in the snowpack plays an important role as it photochemically produces nitrogen oxides (NOx=NO+NO2), which affect the oxidative capacity of the atmosphere through ozone production.This thesis thus aimed at studying physico-chemical processes which take place inside the snowpack and modify nitrate concentration.In a first part, a reaction mechanism to reproduce nitrate photochemistry in snow were developed, based on previous studies. The main hypothesis was that chemical reactions take place in a quasi-liquid layer located on the surface of snow cristals. However, the properties of this ice-air interface are poorly known, and it appeared that this approach had too many uncertainties to be continued.Then, a thorough discussion were carried out to assess current attempts in snow chemistry modeling, and to propose another approach which could prevail given current knowledge on this topic.In a second part, physico-chemical exchange processes between air and snow were studied and modeled. This concerned adsorption, solid phase diffusion and co-condensation. Among the results that arise, it appeared that current parameterizations of nitrate surface coverage are unable to reproduce measured concentrations, in the studied case of Dome C surface snow, and further reveal sizeable overestimations. On the contrary, simultaneous modeling of solid phase diffusion and co-condensation allows a qualitatively good reproduction of measurements, which cover more than a year, thus including both austral summer and winter with their specific features.This study reveals the importance of exchange processes for snow chemistry modeling, and give basis for future work on this topic.

L’objectif de cette thèse a consisté en la synthèse d’un polymère à empreinte moléculaire (MIP) permettant l’extraction du phosmet, un pesticide organophosphoré largement utilisé en oléiculture. La recherche du monomère fonctionnel (MF) disposant de la meilleure capacité à interagir de manière non-covalente avec le phosmet en présence du solvant porogène le plus approprié a été réalisée pour la toute première fois au moyen d’un capteur à acétylcholinestérase. Cette stratégie innovante a permis une meilleure compréhension des mécanismes cinétiques à l’œuvre lors de l’interaction MF-molécule cible. De par l’importance de son rôle dans la détermination de la structure d’un MIP, le choix d’un agent réticulant aux caractéristiques physico-chimiques adéquates a permis de sélectionner le meilleur MIP en s’appuyant sur l’étude des isothermes d’adsorption selon les modèles de Freundlich et Langmuir. La procédure d’extraction du phosmet selon la procédure MISPE (Molecularly Imprinted Solid Phase Extraction) a été effectuée par le biais d’une cartouche SPE dont la capacité a été évaluée à partir d’une solution standard. La validation du choix des réactifs de MIP sélectionnés a été confortée par la réalisation d’une expérience de réactivité croisée appliquée à une molécule analogue au phosmet. L’extraction du phosmet de l’huile d’olive a pu être effectuée avec succès selon un protocole d’extraction en flux inverse optimisé. Cette étude ouvre ainsi la voie à la recherche de nouvelles interactions MFs-molécules cibles au moyen de biocapteurs enzymatiques inhibant des composés toxiques tels que les herbicides, fongicides et autres pesticides. / The objective of this thesis has been the synthesis of a molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) for the extraction of phosmet, an organophosphorus pesticide widely used in olive growing. The search for the functional monomer (FM) having the best ability to interact non-covalently with phosmet in the presence of the most suitable pore-forming solvent was carried out for the first time by means of an acetylcholinesterase sensor. This innovative strategy allowed us to better understand the kinetic mechanisms of FM-template interaction. Because of the importance of its role in determining the structure of a MIP, the selection of a crosslinking agent with adequate physicochemical characteristics made it possible to select the best MIP, whose adsorption isotherms were studied according to Freundlich and Langmuir models. Extraction of phosmet using a Molecularly Imprinted Solid Phase Extraction (MISPE) procedure was carried out via an SPE cartridge, whose capacity was evaluated from a standard solution. The choice of reagents and experimental conditions were validated by carrying out selectivity assays using another organophosphorus insecticide. Extraction of phosmet from olive oil was successfully carried out according to an optimized reverse flow extraction protocol. This work opens new opportunities for studying new FM-template interactions by means of enzymatic biosensors capable of detecting other inhibitors such as herbicides, fungicides and other pesticides.

A depressão em idosos é uma desordem persistente e recorrente, resultado do stress psicossocial ou efeito de doenças fisiológicas, que podem acarretar a desabilidade do indivíduo, aumento dos sintomas das doenças clínicas, na maior utilização dos serviços de saúde e altas taxas de suicídios.A monitorização terapêutica permite a ndividualização do regime de dosagem, assegurando a eficácia clínica e minimizando os efeitos adversos dos fármacos, prescritos na clínica. Os antidepressivos têm sido monitorados, pois, apresentam intervalos terapêuticos bem estabelecidos, ou seja, a maioria dos pacientes, que apresentam concentrações plasmáticas dentro deste intervalo fixo, tem as desordens psiquiátricas mantidas sob controle e efeitos adversos aceitáveis. Os antidepressivos tricíclicos (ADTs): imipramina, amitriptilina, nortriptilina e desipramina, embora eficazes e ainda muito utilizados, apresentam efeitos adversos, não desejáveis. Os antidepressivos, inibidores seletivos da recaptação de serotonina (SSRIs): citalopram, fluoxetina, paroxetina e sertralina, apresentam eficácia clínica comparável aos clássicos ADTs, mas destituídos dos efeitos adversos associados aos mesmos. Os métodos convencionais, empregados no tratamento de amostras biológicas, para análises de antidepressivos por técnicas cromatográficas, têm sido a extração líquido-líquido e extração em fase sólida. A microextração em fase sólida tem sido empregada em diferentes análises em fluidos biológicos, porém essa técnica apresenta certas limitações como, o número limitado de fases extratoras disponíveis no comércio que sejam adequadas para a análise de compostos não iônicos. A avaliação de novas fases extratoras, mais seletivas, estáveis e de baixo custo tem sido requerida para a análise de fármacos. O interesse no uso de poli(pirrol) (PPY), como fase extratora para SPME, está relacionado às diferentes interações dos fármacos (hidrofóbicas, -, com o grupo funcional polar, troca iônica, ácido-base) aos grupos multifuncionais deste polímero. Sua polimerização pode ser alcançada tanto por oxidação química, quanto por eletrodeposição em meio aquoso ou orgânico. O método eletroquímico apresenta algumas vantagens, tais como: o polímero ou mistura de polimeros podem ser revestidos diretamente em um metal, incorporação de diferentes grupos funcionais, entre outras, a polimerização pode ser eletroquimicamente controlada através da voltametria cíclica. Neste trabalho o poli(pirrol) (PPY) foi eletrodepositado em eletrodo de aço inox e empregado para a microextração em fase sólida dos antidepressivos: paroxetina, fluoxetina, mirtazapina, duloxetina, sertralina e citalopram. As variáveis da eletrodeposição, número de ciclos e contra-íon empregado no processo de eletrodeposição foram otimizadas. Assim como as variáveis SPME: tempo, temperatura, pH e volume de amostra, e tempo e solvente de dessorção; almejando maior sensibilidade para o método SPME-PPY/LC UV proposto. A extração sortiva em barra de agitação (SBSE), técnica recente de preparo de amostras, para a pré-concentração de compostos orgânicos presentes em amostras biológicas, baseia-se na extração estática, através do polímero polidimetilsiloxano (PDMS), no qual ocorre a dissolução (sorção) do analito. Neste trabalho, as técnicas SBSE e cromatografia líquida de alta eficiência com detecção UV (SBSE/LC UV) foram avaliadas para a análise simultânea de antidepressivos em amostras de plasma para fins de monitorização terapêutica. As condições cromatográficas de análise, assim como as variáveis SBSE de extração (tempo, temperatura, força iônica, pH da matriz) e tempo de dessorção, foram otimizadas, visando adequada sensibilidade analítica. A validação analítica foi realizada segundo normas da ANVISA, para ambos os métodos propostos, em diferentes concentrações plasmáticas, as quais contemplam o intervalo terapêutico. Segundo os parâmetros de validação avaliados, os métodos SBSE/LCUV e SPMEPPY/LCUV padronizados poderão ser empregados nas análises dos antidepressivos, para fins de monitorização terapêutica. / Depression in the elderly is a persistent and recurrent disorder resulting from psychosocial stress or physiological effect or disease. This condition can lead to disability, cognitive impairment, enhanced symptoms of medical illnesses, increased use of health care services and, increased of suicide rates. Therapeutic monitoring allows individualization of the dose regimen, ensuring clinical effectiveness and minimizing the adverse effects of drugs, prescribed at the clinic. Antidepressants have been monitored because they present well - established therapeutic intervals; in other words, most of the patients present plasmatic concentrations within this fixed range, so that their psychiatric disorders are kept under control and the adverse effects are acceptable. The tricyclic antidepressants (ADTs) imipramine, amitriptyline, nortryptiline, and desipramine, have adverse effects. The selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) antidepressants citalopram, fluoxetine, paroxetine, and sertraline, are clinically effectiveness as the classic ADTs, but they do not lead to the adverse effects associated to the latter. The conventional methods employed in the treatment of biological samples for analysis of antidepressants by chromatographic techniques have been the liquid-liquid extraction (LLE) and solid phase extraction (SPE) techniques. Solid-phase microextraction (SPME) has been used in various analyses of biological fluids. However, this technique has limitations such as the small number of comemercially available extracting phases that are appropriate for the analysis of non-ionic compounds. Investigation of new extraction phases that are more selective and stable, as well as inexpensive, has been requested for drug analysis. The interest in the use of poly(pirrole) (PPY) as an extraction phase for SPME is related to the different interactions of the drugs (hydrophobic, - , with the polar functional group, ionic exchange and acid-base) with the multifunctional groups on this polymer. The PPY polymerization can be achieved by chemical oxidation or electropolymerization in aqueous solution or organic solvents. The electrochemical method has advantages such as, the polymer or a mixes of polymers can be directly deposited on a metal wire, different functional groups can be incorporated, polymerization can be electrochemically controlled by cyclic voltammetry. In this work poly(pyrrole) was electropolymerized on stainless steel electrodes and employed for the solid phase microextraction of the antidepressants paroxetine, fluoxetine, mirtazapine, duloxetine, sertraline, and citalopram. The electropolymerization variables, the number of cycles and counterion employed in the process were optimized, as well as the SPME variables, time, temperature, pH, sample volume, and desorption solvent; aiming at a better sensibility for the proposed method SPME-PPY/LC-UV. The stir bar sorptive extraction (SBSE), recently established technique for samples preparation, that targets the pre concentration of organic compounds present in biological samples. It is based on static extraction, through the polymeric polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), where there is analyte dissolution (sorption). In this work, the SBSE technique and liquid chromatography with UV detector (SBSE/LC-UV) were evaluated for the simultaneous determination of antidepressants in plasma samples for therapeutic monitoring purposes. The cromatographic conditions, the SBSE extraction variables (time, temperature, ionic strength and matrix pH), and the dessorption time were optimized for appropriate analytical sensibility. The analytical validation was accomplished according to the norms of ANVISA for both of the proposed methods, in different plasmatic concentrations, which contemplate the therapeutic interval. According to the evaluated validation parameters, the standardized methods SBSE/LC-UV and SPME-PPY/LC-UV can be used in the analyses of antidepressants for therapeutic drug monitoring purposes.